Power Rankings

1) Notre Dame (10-0, 0-0, +18) - Notre Dame looked much better this week, steamrolling 2-win Boston College 21-6.  The Irish get another ACC team, Wake Forest, before finishing their season at USC.  The AP has Notre Dame third, behind Oregon and K-State, and most experts agree that, if all three win-out, the Irish will be on the outside looking in.  In that case, it is very likely that Notre Dame could be sent to the Rose Bowl.  If the Ducks get to the NC, that frees up the Rose Bowl from their contractual obligation to the Pac-12.  They tend to prefer sticking with their conference affiliates, but if it's a choice between 9-3 Stanford, 9-3 Oregon State, 8-5 USC, or 12-0 Notre Dame, they would probably invite the Irish.  (For the first time since 1925!)

2) Kansas State (10-0, 7-0, +18)

3) Oregon (10-0, 7-0, +16) - Being an Oregon fan kind of skews your perspective of reality.  Last night, I was watching the Ducks against Cal, thinking to myself, "Man, we're playing terribly!"  This was the third quarter, when Oregon was up 24-17 and Cal was driving.  Two Bears turnovers and five minutes later, it was 45-17, and Oregon coasted to the win, 59-17, although it still felt  like the Ducks were doing poorly.  There were plenty of bad signs for the Ducks; nagging injuries to Barner and Mariota, the decimation of their entire defensive line, and the allowance of 236 rushing yards on 5.9 yards per rush.  Next week is Stanford, who has a much, much better running back than Cal. 

4) Alabama (9-1, 6-1, +15) - Down goes 'Bama!  After waiting 10 weeks to reach my #1, the Tide promptly give it right away, losing at home to Texas A&M, 29-24.  Andy Staples seems to think that this loss will end the SEC's six year championship run, but I am not so sure.  Alabama has games left against FCS West Carolina and might-as-well-be-FCS Auburn, and if they win those, they're in the SEC Championship against Georgia.  Remember; all of the teams ahead of them have very losable games left in the schedule.  And it would be a little anti-climactic if the SEC's title streak ended without a loss. 

5) Georgia (9-1, 7-1, +12)

6) Florida (9-1, 7-1, +13) - The Gators needed to block a punt and return it for a touchdown with :02 left in order to avoid overtime and beat the mighty Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns 27-20.  Although Alabama's loss probably ended any slim chances Florida had of getting to the BCS-NC, they're still in a position to grab a BCS-at large bid, especially if they beat Florida State on Nov 24th. 

7) LSU (8-2, 4-2, +11) 
8) Texas A&M (8-2, 5-2, +11)
9) Ohio State (10-0, 6-0, +10)
10) Oklahoma (7-2, 5-1, +8)

11) Stanford (8-2, 6-1, +8) - I took my teacher certification tests on Saturday, and got home just as the Stanford players began celebrating their 27-23 win over Oregon State, during which freshman QB Kevin Hogan was 22/29 for 254 yards, 3 TDs, and 2 INTs.  The win probably goes to the Cardinal defense, however, who held Oregon State to only 3 points on 4 Stanford turnovers.  Next week, Stanford is at Oregon, and will be trying to replicate Texas A&M's success by pulling off the upset.  If I were coach David Shaw, I would just run right at the Ducks, and try to make their defense get a stop while draining the clock and keeping their offense off the field.  Easier said than done, though. 

12) Florida State (9-1, 6-1, +7)
13) Kent State (9-1, 6-0, +7)
14) Oregon State (7-2, 5-2, +6)
15) South Carolina (8-2, 6-2 , +6)

16) Rutgers (8-1, 4-0, +5)  
17) Clemson (9-1, 6-1, +5)

18) UCLA (8-2, 5-2, +5) - UCLA's 44-36 win over Washington St., combined with USC's 38-17 win over Arizona St., means that the winner of next week's Battle for Los Angeles will win the Pac-12 South and get to play for the Rose Bowl.  The Bruins, actually, still have a viable shot at an at-large bid, if they beat USC and Stanford, and maybe have Notre Dame lose to USC and Clemson lose to South Carolina.  Of course, I doubt that the Rose Bowl would like to host a rematch between AP #17 UCLA and #16 Nebraska.

19) Texas (8-2, 5-2, +4)
20) Texas Tech (7-3, 4-3, +4)

21) Louisville (9-1, 4-1, +3)
22) Northern Illinois (9-1, 6-0, +3)
23) Louisiana Tech (9-1, 4-0, +3)
24) Nebraska (8-2, 5-1, +1)
25) Boise State (8-2, 4-1, 0)